Air New Zealand working to help prepare the travel packages. Now there’s another choice and it is a bit more expensive than other countries, but still much less than the charges in the US. The airfare is for 2 so you can take your spouse along with you. Procedures mentioned were coronary by-passes and knee surgeries at 45k and 30k respectively. So far they have accepted 29 patients from the US and Canada. The 2 hospitals are also shareholders in the business. BD
Auckland company Medtral is promoting New Zealand as a destination for "medical tourists" from affluent countries who want "cheap" operations and other medical procedures. A key shareholder in the company, gynecologist Edward Watson - who has been a consultant for pharmaceutical firms including Pfizer and Pharmacia - told the Washington Post the burgeoning business in conducting drug trials in New Zealand showed the potential for relatively cheap non-urgent surgery.
We do provide specialist medical services to the Pacific Islands, and I've done my bit there ... seeing government workers sent to us for treatment in private hospitals.
ReplyDeleteThe problem we have of our patients going overseas for treatment is the risk of complications etc, in an unknown quality situation but this is going to be less of concern here as we provide recognized quality care. And the hospital mentioned ( Mercy, aka Mater Misericordiae when I was somewhat younger ) is the top private hospital in Auckland.
What the tourists will have to swallow though is that doctors here are basically immune from being sued. If you suffer an adverse event, that would be covered as an accident instead, and presumably tourists would also receive accident insurance coverage.